Whiskey & Guns
by shirosagi
Summary: Charlie Manning is pulled into the chaotic world of SAMCRO after she arrives in Charming to confront her father, Dustin Manning, who she hasn't seen in fourteen years. She must deal with the members of SAMCRO - especially when she notices a uniquely tattoo'd member - and the possibility of a relationship with her father. Will she survive or will she return to the Tacoma charter?
1. Father's Departure - Prologue

_**[Prologue - 1989]**_

The sound of a gavel banging echoed through the silent room, "Today we're voting, as you know, in a new member. He's hails from our brothers to the north and with the possibility of a war starting with the Mayan's, well, we need more bodies at this table... Bring him in," John Teller announced to his fellow club members. Hushed whisper's filled the room about Dustin Manning and why he needed a charter change. The whispers quieted down as the chapel door opened and in walked a young, tall, tanned skin man with longer, shaggier brown hair that was currently gelled back. Shutting the door behind him, Dustin walked to one of the free seats at the side of the room where guest's sat when in the SAMCRO chapel.

"Hey guys..." he said with a wave and tight lipped smile, "I'm Dustin Manning. I'm originally from the Tacoma charter but recently went Nomad. I hope to have a long life here in Charming and with SAMCRO... I'm looking for a new place to call home, and hopefully it's here."

JT knew there was an air of mystery about Dustin since he hadn't really introduced much about himself, but he couldn't detect anything dangerous about the fellow. Dustin had been around the club the last couple of days getting to know the guys after he made his intentions known to John. John hoped that Dustin had intrigued the guys well enough that it would get him the votes he needed.

"Our brother here has recently moved to Charming, needing a change in life, and was looking to return to a charter, a family..." John elaborated, "All in favor of voting in Manning, say aye."

Around the table multiple "'aye's" were announced from all current members, not a single nay was hear. JT was proud of them as they open upped their club to their newest member. Finally, with a smile, John spoke, "Aye... Well it's unanimous, welcome to SAMCRO, brother." A roar of cheers went around as Dustin was given his SAMCRO patches and JT banged the gavel once more, indicating that a decision had been made. Handshakes and brotherly hug's were passed as a place was made at the table for him.

The club meeting was short, just the basic update on the current issue's, but as soon as the meeting was over they all filled out into the club house where a party ensued, prepared by Gemma. Tonight was a needed night considering what had been going on in Charming lately. JT watched Dustin mingle from the sidelines, and was sure that he would fit right in from what he saw. He sipped his beer at the bar and scanned the room and it's occupants. Piney came over and took up the seat beside him.

"Dusting Manning, huh? You think there's more to him than we know?" Piney asked, "When I gave Tacoma a call, there wasn't much they'd say about it, other than it was a personal decision to leave. Seems kind of fishy if you ask me." Piney was a cautious person and John knew that he was just looking out for this club.

"I don't think there's much more to know about him. He did tell me that he was running from a girl problem. So as long as that girl doesn't come to Charming and start's making problems here, then there's nothing more he needs to say," JT said as Piney ordered up a shot of patron for himself. He hope that what he had just told Piney was true, but he also hoped that Dustin wasn't leaving a kid behind; the mother and kid needed a man around.

Just then Dustin came over and struck up a conversation. "Hey man, thanks for everything you've done for me so far." he extended out a hand, and JT looked at it for a moment before taking and shaking, a warm smile forming on his face.

"I hope you'll be here for a long time," He said. There was another thing that JT hoped for, that he wouldn't get killed in this ongoing war with the Mayan's, but he kept that to himself. No need to scare the man off before he was barely initiated into the club.

_**[1994]**_

Charming had quickly become Dusty's home and he knew that it was the right place for him. He'd been here for just over three years and already seen a change in its president when JT died a year ago. Now Clay Morrow sat at the head of the table and things felt different, really different. Dusty had grown close to JT in the short three years that he had known him, and he was aware that it rubbed some people the wrong way - mostly Clay - but he managed to keep the target off his back so far. Once he became closer with Tig, Clay stopped watching him all the time. So far he had lived to see another day.

It was blazing hot today in Charming, something that Dusty still was not quite use to after three years. Tacoma was hot in the summer but not like a summer in California. Some day's he longed to return to his old home, but then he'd look around and noticed that Charming was where his home was now. Often he tried to keep the memories of Tacoma at bay, they hurt too much. He was just climbing on his bike, about to make his way to the garage, when his cell rang. Pulling it out, Dusty checked the front screen, it was the garage. "Hey, what's up?" he asked as he pressed the open phone to his ear, and held it there with his shoulder. He pulled his now long hair back, fastening it with an elastic. Soon after he settled down, he'd stopped cutting his hair and gelling it back. He didn't want to be the Dusty that was from Tacoma, and well, letting his hair grow felt like a way to get rid of him.

"Hey baby." It was Gemma, she must have been calling to make sure that he was still covering the shift he'd agreed to.

"Gemma, what's up? Don't worry I'll be there in ten, just leaving now."

"Glad to hear it but that's not why I'm calling," She told him and paused. Finally she spoke again, "You got a large envelope in the mail. It's pretty heavy."

"Where's it from? There a return address on it?" Dusty didn't have anything being mailed, at least nothing that he knew of.

"Uh... It's from Tacoma. Do you think that the Tacoma charter was mailing you something?"

"Probably. Keep it in the office and I'll grab it when I get there. See you in ten." He close the phone and his heart dropped into his stomach. He had an idea of who the package might be from, and it wasn't the Tacoma charter.

Minutes later he pulled into the Teller-Morrow parking lot, having sped a little too fast down the streets of Charming, but he was eager to open the package. After parking his bike and turning it off, he headed towards the garage office. The door was closed which meant Gemma had the AC on, a nice treat after a hot ride.

"Quick! Get in before you let all the fucking cool air out," Gemma barked immediately after Dustin open the door. He promptly stepped in and shut the door behind him.

"Sorry Gem," he apologized, and turned back around. The AC was cranked up and it felt like a fridge in here, made Dusty want to find a jacket. He walked towards Gemma, placing a kiss on her cheek in greeting.

"Ah Dustin. Here's your envelope." Gemma said as she grabbed a manila colored envelope from under her pile of papers, and handed it to him.

"Thanks. I just want to open this before I start, it could be important." Dustin turned over the envelope and read the address.

"Sure thing babe, take your time." She turned back to her paper work.

Dustin exited the office and went over to the club house entrance, sitting down at one of the picnic tables. He stared at the return address at the top left corner of the envelope, re-reading the name at the top over and over.

_Nikki Anderson..._

He hadn't had much contact with anyone from Tacoma, and zero contact with Nikki since his move to Charming, so it was logical that the package made him nervous. Seeing her name on the envelope was like reality had just punched him in the face. Soon enough, after staring at the item in front of him, he tore at the side and looked inside. He pulled out a stack of photos and a couple of letters.

"Damn it" he swore under his breath and placed the photos faced down. Even after looking at just one picture, he knew that he'd have a hard time looking at the other. So he chose to unfolded the top letter and read it:

_My dearest Dustin;_

_How are you? It's been a while. I finally asked for your new address, finally had the courage to write you. I'm still fucking pissed at you for upping and leaving us though. It was a real dick move on your part, you asshole. You haven't even called or written! But at least you let the club know where you were, in case something bad happen, but you should have let me know too! I'm the mother of your daughter, who you left behind..._

_I figured you would want to know that Charlotte is doing fine, she's nine now and growing more each day. She also doesn't want to be called Charlotte anymore, just Charlie. She says that she's the man of the house and so she needs a man's name. She looks like you and it's heart breaking to see. I miss you Dustin, I really do. She asks about you a ton, always asking to come see you. Do you think that would be possible? Maybe she could come visit, she need's her father. I know you don't want to be a dad and that's why you left, but it's about time you stepped up and be the father I know that you could be. You're not your parents, Dustin, you'll do find. You just need to believe in yourself._

_Anyways, I should get to the point of my letter - I have something serious to tell you Dustin... Fuck, this isn't easy to write about or tell you. Dustin I need you, when the time comes, to let Charlie come live with you. I'm not sure how much longer I have but the doctors say that I'm dying and it looks like I only have another two or three years at most. It's lung cancer; those smokes sure caught up to me quickly. _

_When the time comes Charlie will be twelve at the youngest, if I live that long. She won't need much, just a place to call home and someone to watch out for her, make sure she doesn't get into too much trouble. Can you do that for me Dustin? She won't be much trouble, I promise you. She's a very easy daughter to take care of, just a little love and affection and she'll adore you. Just like I did... She's a sweet girl and I know that you would come to love her if you just gave her a chance._

_If you can't do this for me then I'll leave her in the hands of the club and my brother. I know they'll take care of her if you can't. But eventually she'll come looking for you, you know that right? I've never hidden you from her, so be prepared because one day you'll have to face her and answer her questions to why you weren't there. You'll have to tell her why you didn't come get her and take her back with you to Charming... Why you didn't want to be her dad. _

_If I don't hear from you in three month's I'll take that as you're not willing to take her in..._

I love you Dustin, always have and always will. Take care baby and don't get into too much trouble up there in the big leagues.

_Love, _

_Nikki._

He folded the note back up and stuffed it into the envelope. What a great way to receive that kind of news. Leave it to Nikki to tell him she was dying via snail mail. He grabbed at the next folded letter, hastily opening it. Inside was not another note but a drawing. Dusty knew that it was Charlotte's, that she had drawn it for him. It was a picture of a mother and father and a little girl. To the right of the family was three names, scratched out in children writing; Nikki and Charlotte were there beside his. And under our names, Charlotte had written a question, _'Daddy when are you coming to visit me?'_

Tear's welled up at the corner's of Dustin's eyes and he used the back of his hand to wipe them away. Big bad biker's didn't cry. He knew that he was a horrible father for leaving, but he just didn't have the guts to face the little girl reaching out to him in these letters. Again, Dusty folded and stuffed the piece of paper back into the envelope just like the last one. He couldn't bring myself to open up the last one, he didn't want to know what it contained.

Dusty could hear the guy's working in the garage and knew that he needed to start work, but he just couldn't leave the picnic table. It was like he was glued to the spot. He placed his hand on top of the stack of photo's and left it there for a moment. It took Dusty a couple of minutes to flip it over but when he did there were two familiar face's staring up at me. He took off the elastic band that held them together and Dusty was sure there was about fifty photos in the stack. _Nikki really sent me too many._ He flipped through the stack of photo's that were in his hands, the face's of many people he knew and had called brother rushed by.

He really had to get to work, he'd delayed it long enough. He hastily shoved everything back into the envelope and got up from the picnic table, running back to the shop as an intense urge developed inside him. Gemma jumped as he swung the door open.

"Damn it Dusty, what the hell?" She asked as she pulled off her glasses. He didn't have the patience to apologize or explain right now.

"Gemma, I need to borrow a car. I gotta go." It was the first time since he came to charming that he felt that he had to - no needed - to go back, Dusty knew it was the right thing to do. One of Gemma's brows lifted, not really following what he was saying.

"Where you going? Does this have to do with your envelope and what about your shift?"

"Gemma I don't have time to explain. I gotta go see my girl." Dustin explain rather forcefully and pulled out a picture from the envelope, handing it to her. He watched her study it, making sure that she understood what was being implied by the picture.

"That' s what you left behind? A fucking daughter? Jesus fucking Christ, Dustin," She said angrily, but grabbed for her purse. "You never mentioned that you had a daughter. That's messed up, okay, and I've seen some messed up things. Even Tig acknowledges his kids." She pulled out her own set of key's and offered them to him. He took them from her, surprised by her offered.

"Sorry Gem, I gotta go, I'll be back in a couple of days. I'm bring her here for a visit. You tell the guys I'll be back with a surprise," he yelled behind him while running out of the office, not before kissing Gemma on the cheek. He could feel the others watching him as he climbed into Gemma's car and he was sure that they'd be asking her in no time what he was up to, but right now he didn't care. Backing out of the parking lot, he sped out and down the street. Did he even have the right to show up now, out of the blue, and ask to take Charlie back with him for a while? Was it even safe to bring her here? He didn't give a damn. All he wanted was to see his baby girl...

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

**Hey everyone! So I've decided that I'll be re-doing my SoA story. This one was originally titled "To Stir with Love", but has since been changed to "Whiskey". And alongside the title change, it has received a POV change too. To Stir with Love was a 1st person, alternating POV story, but now it shall just be 3rd person. **

**Hopefully this gets the response that I once had, and let me know how you like it. The next few chapters (since I have them already written) just need to be converted and edited, so hopefully I'll have those to you fairly quickly. **

**Like my other stories, I'm going to notify you now, I am just about to head back to school (it starts tomorrow) so please bear with me with updates and all that. School is important but I also want to give you the highest quality chapters, so that means I might take a bit to get them to you. Thank you. **

**Anyways, You'll meet Charlie, the OC, in the next chapter. I hope that you all like her (she was my very first OC I ever created, so she has a special place in my heart). **

**Please review and let me know your thoughts on the story and all that. **

**Thank you, and enjoy.**


	2. Entering the Lion's Den

**Chapter One: Entering the Lion's Den.**

The sun was shining brightly and Charlie Manning could feel the sweat beading on down her forehead as she pulled off from the highway and into Charming. It had been a long, hot, and sticky drive from Tacoma to Charming, and the air conditioning in her custom painted Nissan Skyline wasn't the greatest. It was more of a 10 second car than a road trip car, and she'd pushed it to its max. Thankfully her car hadn't given out on her, but Charlie made a note to tune her up the next moment she got; hey, she was headed directly for a mechanic shop, so she'd have full access to all the tools she'd need.

Immediately upon arriving in Charming, things felt different, surreal almost. There was a very specific reason that Charlie had pulled into Charming. She was on a mission, an important one. She was really here, ready to face the man that left her all those years ago. Charlie had driven for over 12 hours from Tacoma and now she was finally at her destination, well, almost there. Her legs painfully needed to be stretched, and she couldn't wait to get out of the car.

She knew coming here that Charming was a small town and the people that lived here fought to keep it that way - the guys had told her that much at least. But back home it was a little different; Tacoma was much larger and if you didn't know how to get somewhere, you most likely got lost looking. She felt like a fish out of the sea as she drove down the streets - even though it's usually the other way around. Charming had the cliché small town feel oozing out of every brick and blade of grass. And although it was small, the town layout was confusing as hell. Just as Charlie was about to give up, pull over and get directions, she drove past the Charming PD building. With a quick u-turn, she parked her car in front of the building and looked out the window. This was definitely the police department. Climbing out of the car, She looked around and took in everything about her. Charming PD was obviously a small force, so there had to be someone who was free to help her with directions.

As Charlie entered the building, the AC hit her face, causing a chill to run down her back. The change from hot, sticky air to the cool and refreshing AC was extremely needed. She looked around the building and was surprised at how busy it was. She managed to overhear something about a fundraiser from two passing deputies, something called The Taste of Charming and that some of the officer's needing to get down there to help out. She made a mental note to check out whatever this fundraiser was, maybe she'd find some good food.

Walking up to the reception desk, she noticed that there was no one sitting in the chair, so Carlie rested against the counter, tapping the toe of her shoes against the floor and waited to be helped. Suddenly a young officer was at her side, causing her to jump. "Fuck you scared me," Charlie blurted out as her hand went to her chest in dramatic heart attack kind of way. He'd snuck up on her without her noticing. She usually wasn't all that easy to startle, especially since her extremely dangerous hobby had conditioned her to be aware of all her surroundings.

"Sorry, didn't mean to startle you. Have you been helped?" He apologized and placed a manila folder on the reception counter. At first glance Charlie noticed that he was rather attractive, so she flashed him a smile hoping that it would get her the proper help she needed and be on her way.

"Ah, It's no problem. Hey Officer..." she read his name tag, "Hale. I'm looking for directions. Could you tell me how to get to Teller-Morrow garage?" She wasn't sure how known the Son's were in Charming, so she decided to keep it simple and just asked for the garage.

"Now what does a young lady like yourself have at Teller-Morrow?" He asked after a letting out a large sigh. He leaned against the counter in a very casual way, trying to seem friendly, but Charlie didn't appreciate people, especially cops, interrogating her, or overstepping their boundaries, regardless of their profession. Her business was her business and people could fuck off if they didn't like it.

She bit her bottom lip, quickly becoming irritated. "Look, all I need to know is how to get there, not have my business questioned. Can you help me?" she asked, her tone sounding strong and confident, but Charlie knew that she shouldn't have spoken to a cop like that. It was just that he was seriously pushing the wrong buttons; She was tired after her long drive and just wanted to get to where she had to be. She didn't want some newbie cop pushing her around or trying to intimidate her. Charlie knew that the Sons, like most of their other Charters, were dangerous fellows, but since having grown up around the boys of the Tacoma Charter, she knew how to handle them. Her young looks and girlish appearance didn't negate her experience.

Hale shifted uncomfortably before speaking. "Turn right out of the station, take the fifth right, second left and it will be on the left hand side…" He leaned forward and his voice dropped to a whipser. "Be careful when you get there. The guy's that run the garage are pretty dangerous. If you need someone else to take a look at your car, I can definitely point you in the right direction..." He nodded and picked up the file again, heading deeper into the police station.

Charlie stood there watching him walk away before she turned to leave. She seriously had to fight back the urge to give him the middle finger. As she was exiting out of the building, Charlie felt like someone was watching her. So before she stepped through the open door, she looked over her shoulder and checked behind her. Nobody stood out, so she figured that she was just being paranoid.

As Charlie drove down the road - trying to remember the directions that Hale had given her - she began to recognize a couple of shops down the main street. She had visited Charming once before, which she remember very little of, like the smell of a ladies perfume or the chuckles of some of her dad's friends, but the shops in Charming hadn't changed since. It was kinda nice to see a city untouched by the modern world; there appeared to be no starbucks or mcdonalds anywhere.

Finally, after only three wrong turns, Charlie found the garage and pulled into the parking lot. But just as she pulled in, a bunch of guys with leather vests on climb into a black van and sped out of the lot.

"Fuck," Carlie swore as she climbed out of her skyline, and watched as the van turned out of view. She looked around the yard, spotted a couple of guys working in the actual mechanic's shops and an open door for, she guessed, the office. That's where she'd try first: find someone who could help her and get some questions answered.

As Charlie stepped into the office, she pushed her sunglasses up into her hair and it took her eyes a moment to adjust to the darkness. She noticed a man with an oxygen tank at his side sitting at the desk and I knocked on the door to announce her presence. Startled, he turned in his chair and leaned against the desk. "Hey there darlin', what can I do for you? Your car needing some work?" He asked politely.

As soon as the first words left the older man's lips, Charlie was sure that she had met him before. Something stirred inside her that told her he was safe to talk to. "Uh, no, no that's not why I'm here," I answered and suddenly she was getting nervous, and fast. No one knew that was going to shop up, and she was starting to regret coming all together. Her heart to start racing and then the sweat's started. Fuck...

"Everything alright gal?" the man asked, quickly standing up and moving to her side as quickly as he could. She was sure that it was obvious she didn't feel well, especially when her legs started to shake and go numb, causing her to stumble a few steps forward. She collapsed onto the couch and groaned. Fuck this.

"Everything alright gal?" The man asked, quickly standing up and moving to her side as quickly as he could. She was sure that it was obvious that she wasn't feeling well, especially when her legs started to feel numb. She stumbled a few steps and collapsed onto the couch on the opposite wall.

"Yeah, I-I'm okay. Just a p-panic attack. Water…" Charlie felt the attack forming in her chest - her lungs tightening, breathing becoming shorter and burning. Her vision becoming blurred. She clenched down on the edge of the dingy couch cushion that she sat on, and leaned forward, placing her head between her knees and stared down at the cracked tile floor. She tried to focus on staying steady and bringing herself back from the edge. She could do this. She was touch. She was badass and badass chicks didn't have panic attacks.

Charlie hadn't had a panic attack to this degreein a few months, maybe closer to a year, and they were usually just got flashes and clamy hands. She had been fine and she'd figured that maybe she'd outgrown them. The panic attacks had started the day that her mom had started chemotherapy. A young Charlie had started to internalize her worries about her mother and what the future had in store for her if her mother did pass away, and eventually it started to all come out in vicious and violent panic attacks. The worst attack that had happened was a week after she got her drivers permit - the attack had been so intense that she ended up totalling her car by crashing into a fence pole, ending up in the hospital for at least a month, and royally mess up her insurance. Though, over the few years they had started to get lessen and she thought that they were going away, yet here it was, rearing it's ugly head back in her life, and right at a pivotal moment. Life sucked - at least right now it did.

Suddenly a glass was shoved in her face. Accepting the glass, Charlie looked up at the old man who had offered it. Piney, suddenly she remembered him. He had told her stories about her dad the last, and only, time she had visited. Now he looked older, the added oxygen tubes didn't help the cause, but he looked just as gentle as she had once remembered, and she couldn't help but smile, abet a small one, at the man.

"You look familiar, darlin'."

"Well no shit. I'd be worried if I didn't look like the man I called dad. How is Dustin anyways?" She asked, trying to sound as casual as possible before sipping at the glass of water.

"Wait, you're saying that you're Dustin's daughter? Little Charlotte?" Piney asked, a bewildered expression quickly overtaking his features.

"Yep, the one and only," she answered with sarcasm. It took everything out of her not to correct the man next to her. She hated the name Charlotte ever since she was young because she felt it wasn't tough enough for the dangerous world that she found herself in. A biker's chick couldn't be named Charlotte, the two just didn't go together. Charlie was much better. Once she had even considered getting her name legally changed since most of the people she knew only knew her as Charlie; not many people knew that her full name was Charlotte (Okay, maybe a few times she had lied and said that her name was just Charlie, not short for anything, but can you really blame a girl?).

"Good lord," Piney breathed out, raking a hand through his thinning hair. "I never expected to see you again. What are you doing here?"

Charlie looked down at the empty glass in her hand, spinning it as she spoke. "I came to see my father. Where is he?" she asked. The look that Piney gave her left Charlie feeling rather uncomfortable and worried, and she began to wondered if this was a bad time to be here or something had happened to my father. She hoped it was the the former and not the latter.

"Your father's not in Charming-" He started to explain but Charlie quickly cut him off.

"Wait, what? Where's my dad? What happened to him?" she asked as she started to get worked up again. If her father was dead and no one had informed her, there would be hell to pay. He hasn't been present in her life, only that one summer that she'd come to Charming to visit, and it surprised her how worried she suddenly way at the prospect of her father not being among the living.

"No, no darlin', He's fine. Nothing like that happened to him. He's just on a run right now, won't be back for a couple of days." Piney said trying to reassure her.

"Oh..." Her gaze dropped down and her features fell. Once again she wasn't sure how she felt. On the one hand she was a little sad that her father wasn't here right now, and that she couldn't start yelling at him for giving up on her. His lecturing would have to wait a little longer, and she'd already waited fourteen years so what was a few more days?

"Don't worry he'll be back soon. Now..." Piney paused as he stood up, "there's a fundraiser going on right now, a bunch of the guy's are over there. Get yourself acquainted with them and I'll get your things and set you up with a room here at the club house."

"Ah, t-that's okay. I'm staying at a motel for now..." Charlie stammered as she quickly stood up, blood rushing slightly. She didn't want to cause trouble, or to put anyone out. She was completely fine with finding a local motel and staying there.

"Don't even think about it. No daughter of a Son is going to say at a motel when we have perfectly good room's here," Piney told her in a firm voice as he directed her out of the office. She nodded in agreement but still felt a little awkward taking help from people she'd met only once. Back home in Tacoma, Charlie was close with the guy's of that charter and she should have know that SAMCRO would be the same, they took care of their family and friend. Once you were their friend - a real friend and not just the type they kept around so they could use later - you were family.

Charlie took Piney's advice to check out the fundraiser as it was still pretty early in the afternoon and there was no point just sitting around the club house waiting for her father to show up. Piney got one of the hang-abounds to drive her to the school, considering she didn't know her way around. For such a small town there was a rather large turnout and Charlie was surprised by it. She followed a herd of people going in, glancing at the rows of tents lined up. In the middle of one side, she spotted the sign that said 'SAMCRO' in big blue letters. She was a little intimidated to make herself known at the SAMCO tent, so Charlie decided to walk around for a bit, check things out. As she was looking around the different tents, she felt her shoulder connect against something.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't watching where I was going," she apologized to the lady she had bumped into. She quickly noticed the lady had two kids with her, a boy and a girl.

"Oh, don't worry." She said smiling and ushered her kids away. Charlie watched her walk away and smiled to myself. She wanted that, kids and a family, and it left her wondering if she would ever get that, given that most of the men that she knew were the fatherly type - much like her own father.

After a couple minutes of contemplation about what she was going to do, Charlie took a deep breath and figured that she would finally go over to the SAMCRO tent. As she walked up, Charlie tried to see if she could recognised anyone, but didn't see any patched member's behind the table. The only people who were visible were a couple of ladies, all busy with customers. As she waited in line, she heard one of them get called Gemma and it rang a bell. After listening to the chatter at the front of the line, she easily recognised Gemma, she looked almost the same as when she first met her.

Finally the line cleared up and she stepped up to table."Hey baby, one bowl of chilli?" Gemma asked, and immediately after hearing her voice, Charlie remembered exactly who she was.

She remembered sitting in the office with Gemma one day while her father worked in the shop. She ended up taking Charlie to get ice cream because she wouldn't stop crying that Dustin wasn't paying attention to her and that she missed her mom. While they were eating ice cream, she remember, Gemma gave her a lecture about girls not being cry babies, that boy didn't like girls who were to prissy. Her lecture worked and Charlie stopped crying. She was pretty sure that the 8 year old version of her idolized how tough and strong-willed Gemma was, and, so, as she grew up, she tried to be tough like Gemma Teller-Morrow.

"Sure, but I'm not just here for that..." She answered cryptically.

Gemma waved her chilli covered spoon at Charlie, "What else can I do for you then?"

"I'm not sure if you remember, but I, uh..." The words were caught in the back of her throat. _Why am I have such trouble saying who's daughter I was?_

"Remember what?"Gemma repeated quizzingly. Charlie knew that she seemed suspicious, she was acting weird, and that Gemma wasn't all that sure about her.

"14 years ago, a little girl visiting her dad from Tacoma..." Charlie wasn't sure why she vague and holding back. It was almost like if she told more people, it would all seem too real. If people didn't know who she was, she could just drive off into the night and pretend the whole thing didn't happen.

"Wait... Manning's girl? Charlotte?" Gemma smiled as she remembered and started to make her way around the tables that held the pots of chili. Charlie moved towards her and Gemma wrapped her arms around her in a welcoming hug.

"How you doing baby? I haven't seen you since that first visit. You're all grown up now. Damn do I sure feel old," She said as she gave Charlie a look over. It made her was happy that Gemma remembered, since she was probably one of the only people that had been looking forward to seeing again.

"I'm doing good, thanks, but you can just call me Charlie. I'm here for another visit, thought it was about time I showed my face," she said with a forced laugh. She wasn't just 'showing her face', she was bitter towards her father for not making contact with her after that her time here. Growing up, Charlie figured that if he didn't want to put any effort into knowing her then she wouldn't either. Recently something shifted inside her, something happened, and she needed a change. Surprisingly her first thought was to come see Dustin.

"Your dad's going to be glad to see you. You know he still had that pile of picture's you mom sent him all those years ago; keeps them in his tool chest in the garage. I catch him looking at them every so often. I even think he got a guy from the Tacoma charter to send him one of you each year and a report on your wellbeing." Gemma said. It shocked Charlie more than one would expect. _My dad kept tabs on me?_

"Really? I never knew..." she said quietly. If her dad still thought about her, then why hadn't he come to see her, or at least picked up the phone a time or two? Charlie eventually just assumed that he just didn't care, didn't want to be a father. That did damage to a person, fucks them up mentals, to not feel important or loved by your father.

"Well anyways we can catch up later," Gemma said with a wave of her hand. "My son and the guy's bailed on me and I could use an extra hand, so let's put you to work." Gemma guided Charlie behind the table and took her purse. She wasn't sure what to do, refuse or just go with it. After a quick calculation of the situation, she chose the second option. And, it would make a good impression with Gemma and the rest of SAMCRO. With as sweet of a smile as she could must, Charlie fell into place beside Gemma.

* * *

Jax watched from inside the van as Clay made the exchange with Lin. SAMCRO had been fucked over by a chronic masturbator, but somehow they'd manage to still get money from someone. Chucky had turned out to be a perfect bartering piece, and Lin was willing to pay anything for the guy. Jax was a little surprised at how important Chucky seemed to be to the Chinese, but figured that it was more about him knowing about the fake bills they produced and not how valuable he was to them. Just as Tig and Bobby, who was still dressed like Elvis, handed Chucky over, Jax's burner phone started to vibrate. Pulling it out of his pocket, he checked the number and saw that it was the garage.

"Hey, what's up? Something wrong?" He said into the phone. Jax's guess was right, Piney. The other's climbed into the van and saw me on the phone, and Jax heard Half-sack ask who was on the other end.

"Nothing too serious but we do have a situation over here. A certain daughter showed up at the garage. I think you all should get back here," Piney informed me. Jax looked over his shoulder at Tig, assuming that Piney was implying that it was one of his girls.

"What?" Tig asked, a little confused, as he noticed Jax.

"We'll be there in a bit," he said and shut the phone. Tig's girls didn't show up too often, but when they did, good things never followed.

"Apparently a daughter showed up at the garage," Jax mentioned and started up the van, pulling out of the parking lot with haste. The guys turned to Tig, giving him questioning looks, to which he just returned a confused shrug.

The whole process with Chucky and the Chinese had taken a little longer than the club would have liked, and Jax knew that Gemma was probably pissed at their departure halfway into the fundraiser. When they finally made it back to the club house just as it was getting dark out. The firework display was going to be starting soon and Opie needed to get back to set up - or risk having Gemma even more pissed at them all.

They jumped out of the van and walked into the clubhouse as a group. They caught the attention of the guy's hanging out, and Jax saw Kyle Hobart sitting at the bar. For a split second he felt bad about what would go down later, but then it all went away when Jax remembered it was all Kyle's fault that Opie had done hard time. Clay and Jax walked behind the bar, and Tig and Bobby went to join the game of Pool.

"How'd it go with the Chinese?" Piney asked, turning away from the game.

"Not to good," Jax answered with a sigh. He grabbed a bottle of tequila and poured herself a shot. He'd need all the liquid courage he could get. Tonight wasn't going to be easy, and he was positive that he'd have to be a little drunk to actually go along with what was planned.

"Well, where's Chucky?" Piney asked.

"That's the upside," Clay replied with a grin and a chuckle.

"Clay, It's good to see you man." Jax watched as Kyle Hobart extended his hand out to Clay, expecting Clay to greet him like an old friend. Clay looked at Kyle's hand for a moment, threw his beer cap behind him before moving around the bar.

"I hear you have an offer I can't refuse," he asked of Kyle, leaning against the bar.

"Whelp, I better get back to the fireworks or your mother's going to be stuffing gunpowder up my ass." Opie announced as he headed to the back of the club house.

"Yeah I'm sure we're all on the 'Gemma Shit List' by now," Jax joxed and following Opie. He needed to make sure he was okay with everything that would happen just moments for now. If he wasn't, Jax would find some way to get it called off. It was Opies decision, no one elses.

"I live on that shit list." Clay commented gaining chuckles out of the guys in the room.

When they were far enough from Kyle, Jax stopped Opie. "Op... You okay with this?" he asked.

"Yeah... You?" Opie eyed Kyle.

"I'm good," he said nodding my head.

"Look, what I was saying earlier doesn't mean I don't want this. I would rather be dead than be that guy." They both looked over as Clay and Kyle were holding up their bottles. Kyle didn't know what was in store for him, poor guy.

"Me too. You should get going; I can hear my mom swearing from here." Jax teased and waited was out the side exit. He headed back into the main room, but noticed something different. There was someone new standing beside Piney. Jax hadn't noticed any girl in the clubhouse when they first walked in and wondered where the girl was. Jax walked over to where Piney was, the pool game had wrapped up.

"Hey, so where's this girl you called about?" he was curious to find out who's the girl was. His bets were on Tig.

"Yeah. Is it one of my girls?" Tig asked, coming up beside Jax. Briefly, he wondered why Tig hadn't asked Piney sooner. It was probably because he was too scared to deal with it himself.

"Oh, the girl, right. I sent her over to the fundraiser for a while. I didn't want her to just sit around and get in the way," explained Piney, taking a sip of his beer as he finished. "She called a little while ago for a ride back, she should be here soon."

"Well whose girl is she?" Jax repeated.

"Well you probably barely remember her. It took be a little while to remember myself. She only visited once, 14 years ago." Piney paused and waited if anyone took a guess, but when they didn't, he just told them. "It's Manning's daughter."

"Ouch... Glad it wasn't one of my girls." Tig commented with a large smile; glad to have that off his shoulders.

"Dustin's daughter? I thought she was in Tacoma?" Jax asked. He vaguely remembered a little girl hanging around Dustin once. The main thing he could remember about her was that she was always crying. "What she doing here?"

"I'm guessing she's here for a father-daughter reunion. She didn't tell anyone that she was coming, I think. It freaked her out when she tried to explain and ended up having a major panic attack.." explained Piney.

"Ouch, I heard those things are intense."

When the main door to the clubhouse open, everyone turned around and watched as a young, and very pretty, the girl walked in. She paused for a moment and rocked back on her heals, hand in her pocket and scanned the room. She spotted Piney and made her way over to us.

"Hey darlin' how was the fundraiser?" Piney asked her as she got closer.

"Uh, good, I think... Gemma put me to work dishing out chilli once I introduced myself. Said that her son and a bunch of the guy's split and she needed help." She explained as she looked around at us.

"That sounds like my mom." Jax commented and chuckled.

"Ah, you're Gemma's son. I'm Charlie." She said extending her hand. Jax took a quick looked over of the girl: She had long dark brown hair, the same dark and calculating eyes as Dustin, and her figure wasn't bad at all. The cropped short that seemed to not hide enough in the back were a great view for the rest of the guys, and the tighter tank top was great for Jax. She definitely was Manning's kid - looked exactly like him. From the way she held herself to her bravery of just walking into the club, Jax wondered if she had spent lots of time with the Tacoma charter. She wasn't afraid to be near any of guys.

Even at first glance you could tell that Charlie wasn't a princess, but was the daughter of a biker. The clothing she wore and tattoo's that were exposed said it all. Jax knew that if she ended up sticking around, she'd be able to handle us and all the shit that went down. If she stayed.

"Hey Jax! Come have a drink." He was pulled away from Charlie and the other's when Kyle called out, sounding close to intoxication. Jax had to keep the façade of being chummy with him, so begrudgingly he went over. Jax briefly looked over his shoulder and saw Charlie talking with the other guys. She could definitely handle herself around her, and that would make it so she could stick around for as long as she'd like.

Once at the bar, Jax leaned against the opposite side and got the signal from Clay, that said it was time. "So Bobby, you tell Kyle about the knuckle head?" He had to some how taunt to Kyle to going into the garage. That's where it was happening.

"Whoa, who's got a knuckle head?" Kyle asked, and Jax could already smell the alcohol saturating his breath. Bobby went along with the taunt and began describing this non-existent knuckle head.

"Let's go take a look" Jax suggested. There were multiple 'yeah's' from the guys and they all started to funnel out of the room. Jax lingered behind, heading over to Charlie when he noticed her questioning stares. "Hey darlin', you mind staying inside the clubhouse for a bit?" He asked.

"Uh, yeah, sure. Hey, is that guy getting the shit kicked out of him? I could tell there was an elephant in the room and from the lack of cut on him..." She pointed out. Jax was surprised that she had been so observent, and he wondered what else she'd noticed about the group of guys around her, but he didn't ask.

"Kinda. Just don't go outside for a while..." he ordered, patted her arm and headed outside. What was about to go down was not pleasant and Charlie didn't need to witness any of it. At least, not on her first night in Charming.

* * *

Charlie watched as Jax and everyone left, headed outside. The moment that she'd walked in, Charlie could tell that the room was tense, you could cut it with a door stop. All the guys in kuttes were situated around the only guy without one. That didn't scream friendliness. She was relieved when everyone, well the people She'd talked to so far, greeted her kindly. The hostility in the room was only directed toward the patch less man, and none of it washed over to her. These guys were just like the guy's back home, And suddenly she missed them.

Left alone to fend for herself, Charlie looked around the club room. There was a ton of history in the large building. They were the original charter, this was where it all began. looking over each thing, the wall of mug-shots caught her attention and she went over to at a look. The mug-shots with their mans would help her get to know them. Then she saw her dad's mug-shot; Of course he would have one. He looked almost like she remembered him and guessed that it had been taken around that time too. Moving on to the other photos Charlie noticed that one guy was on the wall twice. He looked young, had head tattoos and definitely stood out - his appearance wasn't quite the biker norm. She laughed to herself since she hadn't see that kind of guy before. A brief though came to her, and she wondered if he got harassed about his non-biker looks. charlie was interested in meeting him and seeing his style in person, but she didn't see him with the guy's that were currently taking care of business outside.

Charlie followed the trail of pictures, down the hall towards the back of the club house, stopping to examine each one. One in particular had her stop, a little surprised by it being on the wall. The picture she had stopped at was of Dustin on his bike with her sitting in front of him, hands holding onto the handle's and a big smile on. She leaned in closer, examining the faces behind the glass. Dustin was looking down with the same goofy smile the younger version of her had on. The things that she found out about her dad today, and seen on these walls made, me wonder if she was wrong about her dad or if there was more to why he wasn't around. Maybe she was the one that had stopped the, from meeting sooner._ Was I the bitch?_

She stared at the pictures on the wall for a while and was startled when someone come up beside her. "Sorry darlin', didn't mean to startle you," apologized Jax, his biker tone coming out hard. She looked him operas he had done to her earlier - she'd grown up with these kinds of guys, so she knew the usual signs that they gave off. He was definitely grown up, but still still could remember who he was.

"Ah it's okay, don't worry about it," she dismissed. "I'm usually more aware than this, but nerves are wracked today."

"No need to explain." He patted her shoulder and stepped past her, heading further down the hall.

"Hey, uh, Jax..." She called out. Jax stopped and turned around.

"What's up?" He asked, making his way back.

"Piney said earlier that my dad was on a run. I was just wondering if you knew how long he would be..." Charlie, at times, was a pretty impatient kind of person and hated waiting. So for her to wait around and wait for his unknown return, it wasn't sitting well with her.

"I think he should be here in a day or two. Why, you good for the night? Got a place to go?" He asked.

"Yeah, Piney set me up with a room here earlier... Just wanted to be prepared, you know?" She flashed him a weak smile. Inside she was freaking out and trying to hold back any possibilities of another panic attack. Talk about anything that was remotely close to her pending confrontation with her father sent her nerves packing, allowing the panic to set in.

"Good to hear. I'm sure your father will be happy to see you." Jax smiled and turned back around heading up to the roof.

"I doubt that..." she whispered, turning back to the pictures on the wall. Now that Jax was back inside the clubhouse, Charlie guessed that it was okay for her to head outside. She needed some her, and hopefully it would curb the anxiety flowing through her body.

The temperature outside had definitely cooled down from what it was earlier, but still warm enough not to need a jacket. Charlie pulled her cell phone out from her purse, and sat down on the picnic bench outside the door. She flipped the phone open and saw that there was a new text message waiting for her. Before checking the message she caught sight of the youngest SAMCRO Prospect cleaning up their mechanic's shop.

"They sure do give a messy shit kicking," she commented under her breath before returning her attention back to the phone. She read the text.

_Did you arrive safe? How was the meeting with your dad go? Call me when you get a chance. I miss you!_

_-Beau_

She smiled down at her phone; Beau always knew when to cheer her up, even if they weren't in the same city. Charlie sent a quick reply back saying she'd call tomorrow and explain everything. Then, she stuffed the phone back inside her purse and got up. Slowly she moseyed on over to where the young guy was cleaning.

"Hey... "she called out.

"Hi there, Charlie right? I overheard you introduce yourself to Jax earlier. I'm Half-sack." He said as he offered his hand.

"Half-sack... That's an interesting name," Charlie commented as she stepped over the puddle that had formed at the edge of the garage and took Half-Sacks hand.

"Actually, it's just a nickname. Full name is Kip Epps. They all call me half-sack since I only got one ball sack, lost it when I was in Iraq," Kip explain and continued pushing the puddle out of the garage.

"Interesting... I'm just going to call you Kip, is that cool?" She felt a little uncomfortable calling him by a name that referred to his junk. Too soon for that kind of nickname. She leaned her shoulder against the outside of the garage, watching Kip work away.

"Yeah that's cool," Kip said with a laugh, "You're Dusty's daughter right? Why haven't I seen you around before?"

"Yup, he's my dad... Well it's hard to explain but we aren't on the greatest terms. It's actually a surprise that I'm here. Haven't see him in over 14 years." It was weird for Charlie to hear her dad be called by a nickname; to her he was just Dustin or dad. Even her Uncle, when he was mentioned, was just Dustin. He refused to call him his nickname once he deserted Nikki and young Charlie.

"Whoa, intense. I guess you'll be sticking around then for a while then?" Kip asked.

She shrugged a response. "Possibly, depends on how the upcoming reunion goes," she admitted, and quickly looked down at her feet. She didn't want to talk too much about that subject; She'd done enough of that today.

"I'm sure that it will be fine. I'm glad to actually meet you. Not many of the guy's have daughters; well Opie and Tig do... But I uh mean..." said Kip stammering.

"I know what you mean," she said with a laugh, "Well I think I might hit the hay. It was a long day with driving and helping out at the fundraiser. It's nice to meet you Kip." Charlie waved good night as Kip returned to his work and headed inside. Once inside, she asked Piney where she'd be staying and he directed.

When she got into the room and saw her thing, she felt he exhaustion wash over her. She locked the door, and headed to bathroom to freshen up. She monetarily considered a shower, but decided that it could wait till the morning; tonight all she wanted was to crawl under covers and get some sleep. She needed it if she was going to be ready to face her father.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:**

**Here you go guys, the next reworked chapter. I hope you enjoy it. Charlie's pretty fun since she's a little brash, she swears and isn't afraid of these guys. The next chapter is the big confrontation between Charlie and Dustin, so look out for that. **

**I hope you all enjoyed the previous chapter, and I'd like to thank Minyonette, wabi-sabi1090 (I'm surprised that you actually remembered this even with the name change!), Emmettluver2010, and arowley for the lovely reviews!**

**As previously mentioned, I am in school now for the semester, so updates will be slower, but I hope to get at least a chapter out a month (and a chapter out for the other stories as well). So bear with me while I get adjusted to balancing everything. Thank you all!**


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